Wondering what's ahead for Bike Walk Connecticut?
Here are most of the biggest things on our plate through the end of the year:

August

• Exec Committee Meeting
  
• DHT planning 
  
• Newsletters
  
• HFPG submission
  
• Membership renewal blasts
  
• Close out Bike Racks Grant from 2007
• Annual dinner & auction planning 
  

September

• Proceed with HFPG Business Planning Grant from 2011
• Conduct Member & Nonmember surveys
  
• Planning for Business membership & sponsorship appeal
  
• DPH discussions
  
• Trinity Internship Fair
  
• Board meeting
  
• DHT 9/21
  
• Race 9/22
  
• Volunteer thank you happy hrs
  
• DHT debriefing and reporting
  
• Newsletters
  
• Membership renewal blasts
  
• Annual dinner & auction planning
  
• Live Green tabling in Stamford
  

October

• Start developing Annual Report
  
• Business membership & sponsorship appeal
  
• HFPG Board Leadership program?
  
• TS 101 with tony and chris b?
  
• Advocacy Agenda Planning starts
  
• Annual dinner & auction planning and promotion
  
• Exec Comm meeting - strategic plan review and checkpoint
  
• Newsletters
  
• Membership renewal blasts
  
• Annual appeal planning
  

November

• Advocacy Agenda planning continues
  
• Annual dinner and auction
  
• Board meeting – strategic plan review and checkpoint
  
• Annual appeal begins
  
• Annual dinner and auction – debriefing and reporting
  
• Newsletters
  
• Membership renewal blasts
  
• Committee meetings?
  

December

• Advocacy Agenda finalized
  
• Exec Comm meeting – strategic plan review and checkpoint
  
• Annual Appeal continues
  
• Newsletters
  
• Membership renewal blasts
  
• Bylaws review and revisions
  
• Year end bookkeeping
  
• Committee meetings?
  
• Budget review & proposal for 2014
  

This just received from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, which is offering two excellent programs for nonprofit boards this spring.  I hope some of you can join me.  I've found HFPG workshops to be well worth the time.
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Please save the dates for these upcoming workshop offerings for consultants that work with nonprofits.  E-mail invitations will be sent five to six weeks in advance of the session.

Smart Stewardship for Nonprofits
Peter Brinckerhoff, nationally renown author, trainer and consultant
Tuesday, April 23, 8:00 to 11:30 a.m.
How do you make the best decisions for your nonprofit in good times as well as in crises? How can the board and staff be on the same decision-making wavelength?   This session, based on Peter Brinckerhoff's newest book, will show you how to become a smart steward of your organization’s resources, develop a decision making framework to help the board and staff make more mission-driven decisions, and understand and evaluate decisions about growing versus staying small.

Using Business Planning to Drive Strategic Decision Making
Heather Gowdy, Senior Manager, LaPiana Consulting (and co-author of The Nonprofit Business Plan: The Leader’s Guide to Creating a Successful Business Model)
Tuesday, May 21, 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (Lunch will be provided)
In order to fulfill its mission and remain sustainable, every nonprofit needs a business model that works.  This workshop will help draw distinctions between strategic planning and business planning and when to use each, how nonprofits can assess the strength of their current business model, and how they can develop strategies for long-term sustainability.  Note:  Too bad this session isn't sooner--we'll be connecting strategic with business planning at our Feb. 13 meeting!